07-28-2004 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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StarTrib Article gun shop's lawyer. About the lawsuit The suit, filed in Hennepin County District Court, seeks damages to compensate for a variety of problems, including lost income. Koscielski said he averaged $1,100 in daily sales for the three months before his move but only about $60 daily in his new location. He said gun sales to police are a prime source of income. The suit also asks the court to strike down the zoning ordinance. It argues that the restrictions against gun shops aren't equally applied to other Minneapolis businesses that sell guns - pawn shops, for instance. It also argues that the city has violated a state preemption against local firearms regulation, which permits only reasonable zoning restrictions. The city's restrictions limit shops to certain zones, and even then the shops must be certain distances from facilities such as schools and parks. The suit argues that this is unreasonable because few sites meet the criteria, and that those that do are in other uses or are not financially feasible. Koscielski offered examples of why he thinks the restrictions are irrational. The Metrodome and City Hall, for instance, are in the right zones, but neither is available. He could buy the Sears building across from his current site, but it would cost several million dollars. Rymanowski exuded confidence at a news conference announcing the suit Wednesday. He cited Koscielski's previous legal victory, in which the city reimbursed him for $76,722.61 in attorney's fees. "It cost the city a lot of money to lose," Rymanowski said. He added that Koscielski offered to go out of business in Minneapolis for less than what the city ended up paying for his legal costs, but that the city spurned the settlement offer. But Koscielski hasn't always succeeded in court. According to the city attorney's office, a suit he brought seeking damages for alleged excessive police force was dismissed in federal court. Koscielski said an officer put a knee in his back while searching for drugs believed to be possessed by another tenant in a building where he lived. A dying breed Although the suit alleges that pawn dealers aren't held to the same standards regarding gun sales, pawn shop proprietors say they aren't running normal retail gun outlets. Hy's Pawn and Jewelry at 1025 Currie Av. sells pawned guns that aren't redeemed to a gun shop outside Minneapolis. Cadillac Pawn at 1538 E. Lake St. resells guns through a Winona store. Gardner Pawnbroker. & Loans, 1419 Washington Av. S., said it sells no more than a half -dozen guns per year on average over the counter, and then only to people who meet license requirements. Page 2